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The Discovery of the Celendrical Date Line
It was Antonio Pigafetta (c. 1491-c.
When Pigafetta, one of the eighteen survivors of the original 270-odd crew members who had set out from the Spanish port of San Lúcar de Barrameda in September 1519, nearly three years later sighted the Cape Verde Islands, he noted: These 18 persons which remained, were altogether vnlearned, so they say all, one after another.Being much disquieted and trobled with that care, I conferred with Gasper Contarinus(a man not meanely instructed in all kinde of literature) who then was Embassadour with the Emperour for his famous commonwealth of Venice. And the 26 of Sept.(which was Monday in the iust and ordinary reckoning of those that had stayed at home in one place or countrie, but in our computation was the Lords day or Sonday) we safely with ioyfull minds and thankfull hearts to God, arrived at Plimoth, the place of our first setting forth, after we had spent 2 yeares 10 moneths and some few odde daies beside, in seeing the wonders of the Lord in the deep, in discouering so many admirable things, in going through with so many strange aduentures, in escaping out of so many dangers, and ouercomming so many difficulties in this our encompassing of this neather globe, and passing round about the world, which we haue related. In January 1594, the Florentine merchant Francesco Carletti ( c. 1573-1636) set out on a remarkable circumnavigation of the world in westward direction that lasted until the year 1606 and which he described in his Ragionamenti del mio viaggio intorno al mondo.
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